Promises all come with a price tag

The federal government needs to listen carefully to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). Coburn is an ultra conservative who often is at odds with the Bush administration. His obsession is the runaway spending of your tax dollars by the federal government. Leaders in both political parties need to listen carefully to the Oklahoma Republican because he's right when it comes to spending.

Coburn this week said deficit spending has become a moral issue greater than abortion because it puts a financial burden on future generations even before they're born.

"The greatest moral issue of our time isn't abortion, it's robbing our next generation of opportunity. You're going to save a child from being aborted so they can be born into a debtor's prison," Coburn said this week.

Those are strong words but Coburn is right on target. The American public loves to hear politicians promise pet projects. And the American public equally loves to hear those massive promises to provide universal health care and a host of other issues and programs. But the American public doesn't want to hear about the details on how these programs will be funded. In so many ways, we are incurring massive debt today that will come due for the next generation.

Coburn is not a lone voice but he's the loudest voice for spending reform. He knows that government at any level cannot make unlimited promises. Those promises come with a price tag and someone, someday will have to face the bill. Though that sounds simple to understand, most people ignore the obvious.

I've said it before but perhaps it's worth repeating. If the federal government were a private business it would have gone bankrupt years ago. But many within the massive federal bureaucracy know that they can hit the pocketbooks of taxpayers when the coffers run dry. Unfortunately, that thinking is flawed on countless levels.

Listen carefully to the words of Tom Coburn. His voice of reason and common sense is sorely lacking in Washington these days.